Conference misery::feline_v1

    Wellll.  I would suggest keeping him in a tiled bathroom rather than
    a room with carepting, furniture, and wallpaper !!  Tile can be
    washed down!  Depends upon how long you will have him what you
    do also.  If it's only a week or two or three, the bathroom will
    work.  Screen doors work well also.  You might try evercleen litter
    for his work.  I hear that it really keeps the odor down for male
    cats.
    
    E.T.

    Thanks Elaine!  I forgot to mention that I don't have a bathroom that
    would work.  (We had to choose between a door and a washer and dryer! 
    The curtain won out!)  The everclear could be used, my cats use it
    normally although I was going to switch back to Scamp.  The little
    dickens track the everclear into bed with me!!!  The bigger pieces fall
    off before they get there.
    Karen

    I would take the furniture out of the room and put it in another
    room for the time being.  
    
    I painted my stud room walls with Semi-gloss paint.  That way the
    walls don't absorb the spray should an accident happen.  You can
    go down to the drug store and buy a package of Depends (incontinence
    pads) and hang them on the walls were he wants to spray.  I use
    hospital chucks, but the depends work too.  Use masking tape to
    attach them since regular tape will damage the walls.  Most males
    will pick certain spots to spray on, and just keep returning to
    those spots.  That makes it easy to put up chucks.  You don't have
    to paper the whole room with them.  :^)
    
    Plan to wipe the walls down with Nolvasan and a deodorizer every
    couple of days.  Cat illnesses can be spread through the urine.
    I only let my girls be with the male when I am there to supervise.
    Another plus to this is that you cut down on exposure.  If the only
    time they are together is to breed, then you are being as safe as
    possible.  Don't let them share food and water bowls, or litter
    boxes.
    
    The Everclean litter really does a good job on male cat odor in
    the litter box.  Thanks again to Karen Kolling for giving me her
    unused Everclean.  You have made my life a lot easier. :^)
    
    Jo

    ah, well.  I'm listening to all this.  I don't have a boy yet.  Maybe
    someday.  I can hardly wait (yuk yuk) !!  
    
    Good Luck!
    
    E.T.

    Elaine, if you want I can send you one of mine!!  My problem is
    that all the kittens that I want to keep are boys.  I have two already,
    and am in love with a five month old seal point kitten out of Mirabel
    and Kalliste.  I better sell that boy fast, or he stays. :^)
    
    What a breeder does for her own male, and what she does for a visiting
    male are two different things.  Keep that in mind.  You don't have
    to be quite so careful when the boy is your own.  He is already
    used to the flora and fauna in your house, and the girls are already
    used to his flora and fauna.  That way, no one gets sick (usually).
    
    Oh, we also installed a ceiling fan in our stud room.  It works
    great, keeps the air circulating, and helps control the temp in
    the room.
    
    Jo

    You might also want to trim nails before letting them together to
    breed.  I did that with Batman and Halie.  Originally I was worried
    about Batman hurting Halie, but after watching Halie trying to 
    scratch Bat's eyes out I started to feel sorry for Batman ;-)
    

    re: 5
    
    Well Jo, what do you think we'd get with a birman and an exotic
    breeding????????????  Shall we start a new breed?  I am hoping
    that my baby girl will throw me a nice little boy VERY VERY SOON.
    I'd like that!! Or one of my other little ladies in the future!
    
    
    Nancy, I, too, make a point of trimming nails before letting them
    breed.  I worried about the girl getting really upset and giving
    the boy the whatfor with her claws!  I didn't have to worry too
    much about Lil, she's such a slut she was bred within 2 minutes
    of being with her red buddy!!  Cin called me at 6 pm, just after
    she put them together, and at 6:02 it was all over including the
    shouting !!!  I can't say that I'm unhappy about her being that
    easy to breed!
    
    E.T.

    I think we would get a mess!!!  
    
    Jo

    I imagine you'd get something that looked very much like a himmie.
    :^)

    re:8
    
    Methinks you are Right!!
    
    E.

    Actually, since everything on a Birman is a recessive gene, you would
    probably get something that looked like an exotic, but with a longer
    muzzle and narrower head.
    
    That is, unless the exotic in question carried the recessive genes
    for point color and longhair. (also, the gene for the Birman's white
    feet is a recessive gene--different from the normal "and white"
    gene--or so it is thought)
    
    Jo                   
    

    Hi all!  Well, we have Arthur at the house.  So far so good/bad, Ruby
    doesn't seem to be in heat now!  Poor little guy is so sweet and
    doesn't smell to bad.  He has used the litter box only since last
    night.  We will have to see if this continues.
    
    The woman I met with is Carol Furnee.  She goes back some twenty years
    in the breeding business and knows an awful lot of what I call heavy
    hitters in the siamese/oriental area.  Did you know that the blue point
    gene comes from the russian blue?  She has the original pedigrees that
    go back that far and also includes many foreign imports.  It was time
    well spent in "Pedigree I".  Next class is on Arthur's return!
    
    Another thing is that "way back"  they used to breed abbysinians with
    siamese for (i forget which) type.  People would swear this isn't true
    but if you check the bloodlines that weren't even actually kept, it is
    there.  This is mostly with the foreign breeders.
    
    Wish me luck, I have to do the little dance of fertility tonight!
    Karen, Ruby, Stinky, Wing, Arthur
    

    I think that the Occicat is derived from Siamese and Aby breedings.
    The pointed gene is a recessive gene in the Russian Blue gene pool,
    have seen a couple myself.
    
    Speaking of Russian Blues, Penny, did I mention that I have seen
    on of your cats out here at the shows??  Can't remember his name
    now, darn, but oh, what a gorgeous boy.  And a wonderful temperament.
    :^)
    
    Hope the little dance of fertility works for you.  ;^)
    
    Jo
    

    One more question please?  Can a vet give a shot to bring a female into
    season and is that a no-no or is it an ok thing?
    
    K.R.S.W.A

    The best way to bring her into season is to keep her in the same
    room with the male (in a cage or something so they don't have contact
    when you aren't there) and to increase the number of hours of daylight
    that she is exposed to.  That may mean opening the blinds in the
    room, or leaving a light on all night.  I have done this with my
    girls and it seems to have worked (maybe I just got lucky).
    
    Jo

    re: .15 - same room.  That's what we did with Halie.  She was in
    heat when I picked her up from Tony's but went out of heat from
    the stress of the move.  I just kept her in the room with Batman
    (who was in his tokyo cage) and in about a week she went back
    into heat.  Patience.
    
    re: Light -hmmmmm  Maybe that's what I should do with Bonnie ;-)
    

    Thanks!  I am leaving her in the same room now with Arthur.  They
    aren't in any cages, but there hasn't been any altercations.  They just
    sit in different spots!  Ruby, on the other hand is absolutely hateful
    of me and lets me know it!!! I can't even pet her, she wrinkles her
    little nose up and just screeches at me.  I a leaving the light on 24
    hours too.  He has begun to spray, right on the curtains and one other
    spot.  Tonight when I get home I will hang plastic and chux.  Also got
    out the "outright" last night to wipe up.  He's funny, he seems to lie
    right where he sprayed and doesn't mind being wet from it.  Tonight he
    may get a bath too!  Live and learn!!
    
    PS  I may be getting two more white orientals, one is Ruby's litter
    mate and the one that took best kitten and best of color in the tica
    show about a year ago.  (I think maybe best of breed too)  Moony Man
    (Moonsilk's Elfin) and Sweetheart.
    
    Karen, Ruby, Stinky (should be re-named), Wing and Arthur-stink-man
                

    Oh no!  Arthur is a dirty boy too?  I hate males that roll around
    in their own spray.  For one thing, they stink and you don't want
    to get near them.  For another, you pet them, and you end up getting
    wet with spray.  Yuck!
    
    See if maybe you can take down the curtains for the time being and
    hang up an old sheet instead.  Or something that doesn't matter
    if it gets ruined.  Dry cleaning doesn't really get out spray, and
    washing some curtains will cause them to shrink.  (the voice of
    experience speaking here).  I put mini blinds in my stud room, but
    that isn't exactly the perfect solution either.  :^)
    
    Jo

>    experience speaking here).  I put mini blinds in my stud room, but
>    that isn't exactly the perfect solution either.  :^)
    
although, if the window is not wider than your bathtub, you can soak mini
blinds in any kind of solution you need, then rinse, and hang them outside
to dry (provided it ain't snowing, that is  8^})...or you can hang them over
the tub by simply installing a couple of hooks in the ceiling and suspending
the blinds from sturdy cord....I know a friend in N.Mex. who used to have
a cattery and she used tricks like this.  I use it to keep my blinds clean,
even tho I have no unaltered males.

    Dian,
    
    Guess what I spent last weekend doing??  Washing off the mini blinds
    in the bathtub with the shower massage.  :^)
    
    Having just spent the whole weekend cleaning blinds and windows,
    I would have to suggest to others that they come up with a better
    alternative. :^)
    
    I made a startling discovery this weekend.  Cats can manufacture
    an epoxy-like substance in their bodies that they excrete in their
    urine and cat spit. :^)  The only blinds that gave me trouble during
    cleaning were the ones in the stud room, and the ones that Laci
    tried to clean.  I guess she didn't think that I was doing a good
    enough job.  She took it upon herself to try and lick then clean.  Cat
    spit is even more epoxy-like than cat spray. :^)
                                                                    
    I think the ideal solution is no window coverings at all.  Glass
    cleans up really easily by itself. :^)
    
    Jo

epoxy cat-spit....you live and learn   8^}


				D

    re: 11
    hi jo,
    
    looking like an exotic is good o- long muzzle - Noooooo thanks!
    
    e.t.

    Cripes!!! This little bugger stinks!!  The chucks on the walls are
    helping, but mix the odor of cat food, poops, pee and whatever else 
    and the poor thing doesn't even care!  It looks like we will be keeping
    him for a while as the Roobster doesn't want to come back into heat. 
    We are NOT going to go through this again (she says!) so we may as well
    keep him here until it can happen.  That's if it is okay with his
    owner.  At this particular time I don't think she minds, because he is
    being well taken care of .
    
    I did go out and buy a pair of diaper "covers" (they look like
    underpants to me) and cut a hole in them for his tail.  I thought they
    would work like stud pants.  The poor thing just sits there with them
    on and every time he moves they fall off!!!  How embarrasing!  I think
    he should come out and get some attention now and then so we put up
    with it.  Other than that he is very well behaved.  He probably doesn't
    know what the h**l is going on.  Can anyone list a store in the
    Chelmsford area that carries REAL stud pants? (We tried the little
    thing for dogs, Not too good.)
    Karen, Ruby, Stinky, Wing and Arthur
    
    

    Gee, you might give Hadleigh House a call - Martha has stud pants!!
    
    Ah, yes, the joys of a male cat!!  send me mail and I'll give
    you the phone number - it's somewhere in here but I don't know
    which note off hand!
    
    Martha can ship them !!
    
    E.T.

    Hadleigh House's number is in an early reply to note 666.
    
    Deb